Neighbors (Jearmin fanfic)
by blacknblackneko
Summary: Armin is in second year of University studying medicine. He lives alone in a calm and silent building, but one day a noisy neighbor moves in just before an important exam. But maybe this boy isn't as bad as he seems. What will happen between those two strangers you'll have to read to find out!
1. Noisy

Armin has been studying for almost two weeks for this exam. He has spent them in the library but this time he preferred staying at home since his back hurt too much for him to resist a chair.

It was his second year in college and he knew what should be done by now to pass the exams and have high grades, which he needed to keep his scholarship and the flat near the campus. His parents wouldn't afford to keep him in college if they had to pay for his standing there too, so his stress was double now that he realized he must pass that really hard exam if he wanted to keep approaching his dream of being a doctor.

Living in that bouinding brought him peace since he moved in. The neighbors were all workers or students like him so he never had problems with them for anything at all, and sometimes the building was so quiet like no one actually lived there. Certainly, when the exam season started he was more than thankful to the quietness and peace he was surrounded by, but in the daily life it also stopped him from things he wanted to do in case it would bother the neighbors.

His best friend Eren was quite noisy and every time he came by joked about calling the Ghostbusters to clear the building. He couldn't blame him, he knew how strange it was but it was good for his grades so any other thing seemed small and insignificant.

He woke up early in the morning after one of his nightmares and decided to go jogging to refresh his mind. It was still cold in the morning at the beggining of March but it didn't bother him at all while running around the usual places for half an hour. It was almost eight in the morning when he stopped by the bakery to buy some bread before heading home now walking and catching his breath. He took a shower, had breakfast and after encouraging Eren to keep studying he started himself.

Time passed as he reviewed the last things he studied the day before, like the anatomy the heart, the possible effects of narcotics on the functionality of the heart and ways to treat them. It was so much to study but everything was interesting enough for Armin to remember and understand. It was only after past twelve in the afternoon when he started to hear noises from the apartment on top of his. At first he didn't pay attention because last time he checked no one lived there so maybe there were new neighbors just moving in.

"What in the world are they moving?" He whispered to himself after some minutes of non stopping noises.

The sounds of furniture scuffing on the floor stopped after a while before his nerves were close to crack. But the silence was back so he took some deep breaths before concentrating again on the subject he was in. The circulatory system.

After lunch (which was not much of eating but drinking coffee) he stopped just to call his father so he could let him know everything was going just fine and he was keeping himself healthy. It's all they asked him for when he moved out of his parents' house and went to another city. He didn't tell him tho about his nightmares or about not eating much because his body didn't accept food. Those things would only worry them and Armin thought they would disappear after the exams finish and the stress ends.

But the noise started again, now being too many steps that didn't bother to slower down and they sounded like people was jumping or dancing over his head. It was passed six when the real problem started. Music. Really loud and screaming music accompanied by some laughters and screams.

"It can't be... A party? Really?"

That was the last thing Armin needed that day. There where less than three days to the exam to finally take place and all he had to do was reviewing what he already knew. But that wasn't less important than studying so the stress for the noise became really high and didn't let him concentrate at all. The back was still killing him after staying almost all day in bed and the library wasn't an option. He tried using headphones with piano music and at first it worked but the music became louder and louder to the point of Armin feeling the vibration on the floor while walking bare feet.  
"Oh my lord..." he sighed and pushed a pillow to his head while trying to calm down but he couldn't. All he wanted to do was go up there and scream to whoever was his new neighbor. His only hope was another person to complain so he could keep studying.

But half an hour passed and the noise was only increasing, like more people were arriving and Armin felt desperate at that point, and the good and nice Armin was fading being the not so known angry boy.

So he took his keys and shut the door close with a loud crash and he headed the stairs. As he climbed the stairs the music was getting louder and Armin groaned before knocking as hard as he could. But no one opened. He did it again repeatedly until a girl opened.

"Oh hey" she said with a wide smile which didn't faded despite Armin's face. "Come in"

"No. I want to talk to the owner"

"Oh... I think..." she turned around searching for someone and then she waved to the crowd. "He's coming"

A tall boy looked down at him. His dark brown eyes made the shy side of Armin pop up and he stepped back looking down.

"Who are you?" he spoke in a husky voice and Armin looked away trying to speak his mind but now it was empty. _The music. I'm here for the music._

"C-can you turn down the music?"

"What? I can't here you"

"The music" Armin spoke finally gathering what was left of his nerves and looked the boy in the eyes. He was expecting a disgust face or someone to shut the door but instead he saw a small nervous smile.

"Yeah. That stupid douchebag doesn't listen to me at all"

"I'm trying to study and my whole apartment is shaking"

"It's that bad?" He laughed and turned around, punching another guy close to him. "Tell Connei I will throw him out the window if he doesn't lower that fucking music" the other boy lauhed, nodded and pushed his way throw the crowd.

"Thank you" Armin smiled slightly. "I'm Armin. I live right below you. I mean, the 3E"

"Jean. And I'm sorry again. I hope that idiot listens to me for once and I'm not kicked out of here right after moving in"

"It's okay. Welcome to the building"

Armin smiled again nervously and moved fast to the stairs not waiting for the music to actually lower down. He opened his door still shaking and stood there for some moments until he heard how the noise was decreasing and even if the steps and laughs couldn't be stopped somehow he managed to handle it. The only thing that was distracting him now was the new boy.


	2. The other face of the party boy (re-up)

_**The other face of the Party Boy**_

The day came and the exam was as hard as he expected, which was a good thing considering the situation, so Armin prepared it more than enough and he couldn't be more cheerful after finishing it.

"It was that hard? Jeez the last time I saw you like this it was a 3 hours exam" Eren mumbled while eating a donut.

He was in a café with Eren having a milkshake and waiting for some more people who were having their own exams. That café became their reunion place, where the small group of friends would sit and talk, cry over failed exams, over stupid people. It didn't matter, they simply liked the place.

"I'm sure I did great!" Armin exclaimed feeling really proud of himself. He always was after passing hard exams and he didn't hide it at all.

"You're a genius, Armin Arlert"

"I just study hard" he chuckled, blushing a little. "These few days were a little hard to concentrate though..."

"Why? Ghosts finally came out of their hideout?" Eren smirked and pushed the rest of the donut in his mouth.

"A new neighbor. A noisy guy who apparently likes parties" Armin sighed. He said nothing about the confrontation he had, or about how handsome that guy was. Basically because consciously he didn't think about it. _Consciously._

"Wait. There's a real person in your buildings who actually knows what parties are?"

"Yeah he has been throwing parties these days" Armin remembered how hard was for him to hold back his stress the night before, and he didn't understand how nobody else complained. But the music lowered down before he could get angry and people seemed to abandon the apartment before ten in the afternoon.

"It doesn't sound like he's bothering you"

"He is! But... I don't know. He doesn't seem like a bad guy"

"Try to get in one of his parties and get crazy" Eren raised his arms waving them nonsense and people were staring at them, but Armin was completely used to Eren's natural behavior.

"You should go. I will sleep" Armin wiped the idea of maybe passing by because he felt so exhausted that all he wanted to do was sleep and chill for few days.

"You're boring" Eren threw a napkin to Armin, who rested his head on his crossed arms over the table. Suddenly his energy faded and he needed a bed and sleep desperately. He didn't sleep in 30 hours and almost didn't eat anything, there wasn't anything left to burn. His body was literally out of gas and he started to feel it.

"Eren... Can you take me home, please?" Too late. He felt dizzy and then... nothing.

He woke up again in the back of a car. Music was softly playing, the sound of voices in the air and a laugh made his head shake. Only then he noticed he was resting his head on someone's lap so he stood straight up embarrassed after realizing he fainted in the café.

"Welcome back from the dead" Eren smiled at him and patted his head lightly, more worried than sarcastic.

"I fainted?"

"You did"

"Great... Hi, Mikasa"

The girl waved from the driver seat and smiled at him through the mirror.

"You should take care of yourself, Armin. Your mom called me and-

"Don't tell her" he shook his head nervously and Mikasa sighed. It wasn't the first time he asked her the same favour.

"I won't" she smiled again to calm him down.

The car stopped few minutes later in front of his building. Armin was feeling weak but he smiled anyways and left the car thanking his friends. Armin hated being a bother to anyone so he pulled his strength together and walked straight until he opened the door, but inside the building he leaned on the wall to avoid falling down. His legs didn't work properly and the stairs became a huge challenge to climb. After a few stairs he sat down cursing and trying hard not to start crying in frustration.

"Hey" a deep but familiar voice spoke behind him. "Are you okay?"

"Jean? Oh, hi" he whispered and tried to smile but his head fell down again.

"You're drunk or anything?"

"Exhausted, actually. Being drunk means having fun. I had an exam" he chuckled and let his body lie back on the stairs.

"Need help?" Jean bent down and sit next to the boy.

"I want to say no but... I can't reach my apartment" he felt stupid for admitting it but what else could he do? Sleep there until he was able to walk again?

"Come on, I'll carry you there" and without a word he lifted Armin so easily like a feather. _Don't_ _ask_ _,_ _please_ _._ "You're so light! Do you ever eat?"

But Armin didn't answer. He would use the fatigue as an excuse to stay quiet the rest of the little walk to the door and then go straight to bed. He didn't notice when Jean stopped walking.

"Armin. They keys" Jean whispered carefully to the small figure. Armin opened his eyes and slid his hand in a pocket, took the somehow heavy keys and slid the right one in the lock.

"Thank you" he whispered hoping Jean to put him down but the boy kept walking to where the bedroom was and lay him down in bed.

"You're welcome" he smiled and looked around nervously. "I should go now, but in case of anything... I'll leave you my number... somewhere. Now sleep" he took Armin's glasses off before the boy turned around in bed and passed out definitely.

The next morning when Armin woke up feeling like he slept for a week straight. He rolled in bed looking for his phone and fell to the floor in the action.

"Ouch" he groaned in a broken voice. He had to clear his throat after hearing that sound but he started to notice how bad actually he was.

"Great... I'm sick now"

The good part, his exams ended and he didn't have anything to do. The bad part, he was sick and probably because of the exhausting month he passed through he would need a complete period of recovery.

He got into the shower and stood under the hot water for long enough before getting out. Then he tried eating something but nothing more than a tea and a sandwich could make it to his stomach. It was when he approached the sink when he saw a napkin with a pen on it.

"A phone number?" He couldn't remember at first but then it popped into his memory. "Oh. Jean"

He looked at the paper like he didn't know what exactly he should he do with it, and ended up placing it on the table looking at it for an hour. _He_ _seem_ _to_ _be_ _a cool_ _person_ _._ _Kinda_ _reminds_ _me_ _of_ _Eren_ _._

Armin typed the number carefully and saved it in his contacts. Then, as he felt a little better he dressed up and took the keys. He needed food to cook something healthy, but when he opened the door he bumped into a plastic bag and a note.

"Soup. Don't worry, my mother cooked it. It will help on your recovery. Jean"

He read it loud and then took the plastic bag and got back inside. _Soup_ _._ _Why_ _did_ _he_ _gave_ _it_ _to_ _me?_

He opened the container and smelled the content. _Chicken_ _._ _It_ _smells_ _good_ _._

He had been fighting with the needing to go there and tell him to stop with his stupid parties and go to be club, but he knew he wouldn't be able to act tough in front of him and it would only make it harder to concentrate afterwards. So he had been struggling those days, and probably that stress promoted his disease.

But now the same guy was feeding him and worrying about him without even knowing him. _Maybe_ _he_ _feels_ _guilty_ _for_ _the_ _noisy_ _nights_ _._ _Or_ _maybe_ _he's_ _this_ _nice._ Armin smiled thinking about it.

He put some soup in a bowl, then in the microwave for a minute and sit down in bed with a blanket over his shoulders. He tasted it, and then kept eating until it was over. It was really tasty.


	3. Stay for lunch

**Stay for Lunch**

Armin stood all day home. Eren called to check on him but Armin didn't want or need his anxiety to break his calm afternoon,so he told his friend he would sleep all day to recover. After having breakfast he slept some more, tried to read a book but the letters were smudgy after some time and he gave up. Even the TV was annoying him, so he lowered the volume and let it speak in the background while he was resting and getting bored as hours passed.

It was a over 16:20 when he decided it was enough. The weather seemed to be warm and it would be good for him to have some air before it got dark. He put on some light blue jeans, white shoes and a dark blue sweater with the word 'freedom' wrote in white on the front and also white lines surrounding the long sleeves in multiple circles. That one was a gift from Eren and it was a little oversize for Armin, but he liked it anyways. It was cozy and kept him warm even though he didn't wear informal clothes too often, just at home or when he went to Eren's.

Armin was drinking some water and checking the clouds if he needed an umbrella just in case, when he noticed the pan, now empty, that Jean let at his door that morning. _I_ _should_ _go_ _and_ _thank_ _him_ _. I wonder if he's home._

Armin had all day that idea in the back of his mind. Why not call him, text him? Jean let there his number for something, but he probably didn't want to be bothered for no reason. Maybe he did it because he had good manners. Maybe he was trying to be nice and polite.

But Armin couldn't show up at his door without asking. _What_ _if_ _he's_ _busy_ _?_ _Yeah_ _, I_ _should_ _text_ _him_ _._

And so he did. He took his phone out again.

 _Are_ _you_ _home_ _?_ _I'm_ _Armin,_ _your_ _neighbor_ _. I_ _want_ _to_ _return_ _you_ _the_ _pan._

It felt a little strange to text a stranger. _It's_ _not_ _a complete stranger. He_ _helped_ _me,_ _so_ _... I_ _think_ _it's_ _OK_ _._ But he was nervous and still wondering if he was annoying him. Maybe he should have left it at his door with a note and leave, but when that idea came to his mind his phone buzzed.

 _Yup_ _._ _Want_ _me_ _to_ _go_ _for_ _it_ _?_ _Are_ _you_ _still_ _sick_ _?_

 _No._ _I'll_ _bring_ _it_ _to_ _you_ _._

 _He_ _is_ _indeed_ _a nice_ _person_ _._ He took his keys, put the pan back inside the bag and run out the door. He felt a little dizzy because of the sudden moving and he slowed down while climbing the stairs. The idea of a walk wasn't as attractive as he thought when the dizziness got more intense.

He knocked twice and waited there. Armin could hear steps approaching the door and a noise like someone or something fell down. Short after that the door opened and a sore Jean appeared from behind it rubbing his right arm.

"Hey" he smiled and then turned around walking back inside the apartment. Armin was about to give him that pan and get out but Jean didn't wait so Armin walked in and closed the door behind him.

The apartment was similar to his, same distribution of rooms but with totally different decoration. There were things thrown here and there with no coherence, two guitars carefully arranged and in their place on one side of the living room, a couch with clothes thrown on it, boxes of pizza on a coffee table, the TV on the same table... Yeah, it looked like he was still trying to organize his apartment.

"Sorry I'm cooking something..." Armin heard Jean speak from the kitchen and he walked slowly in that direction. He found the boy checking something in the oven. Armin had to admit it smelt quite well.

"Don't be. I'm the one who's interrupting you" Armin mumbled trying to get rid of the nervousness and timidity that were bothering his serenity. And adding the dizziness he had to fight not to fell down.

"Want to stay over for lunch?"

"You have lunch at 5?"

"Considering that I woke up at twelve... Yeah" Jean smiled at him and took the bag Armin put on the table.

"I... Hmm... I already ate so..." _I'm_ _not_ _hungry_ _._ He wanted to leave and return to his apartment, fell on the couch and stay there.

"You look pale" Jean furrowed his brows at the awkward boy.

"I am still recovering" a pink blush adorned Armin's cheeks. It was time to go.

"You can stay if you don't have plans. We can talk. You don't have to eat"

 _Is_ _he_ _lonely_ _?_ _Maybe_ _he_ _wants_ _company_ _... He_ _helped_ _me once_ _so_ _,_ _why_ _not_ _?_ Armin nodded and sit on a tall chair near him looking at the boy who bent down again, opening the oven and getting back to work.

Armin felt uncomfortable at first for standing alone and in silent, with nothing he could come up with for a conversation. So he let Jean work while he observed him. By his looks you couldn't tell Jean was the one to be talented in kitchen, he seemed more like the one to burn it down. _It's funny._ Armin chuckled and Jean turned around.

"What's so funny?" Jean smiled and tilted his head lightly. Armin blushed realizing he did laugh and had no reason for it.

"N-nothing" he whispered and looked straight at his hands. He felt his cheeks heating up again, internally cursing for blushing so many times in less than an hour.

"It's okay. Unless you're smiling"

"What?"

"Even if you have to laugh at me, you're smiling and not awkwardly"

"Why are you so nice?" Armin needed to change the subject or the embarrassment would make him faint again.

"I feel a little... Guilty" the boy smiled nervously and leaned against the countertop. _I knew it._

"Why guilty? For what?"

"I didn't know you were studying this hard. My parties must have driven you crazy" Jean cleared his throat and turned around searching for a couple of glasses. "You didn't complain, though. And that only makes me feel worse"

He filled them up with water and gave one to Armin. His hands were still shaking and Jean noticed, Armin could say by his expression, but Jean sipped on his water and didn't say anything.

"Don't worry about that. I always end up like this after exams" Armin shook his head. He didn't want to sound like a nerd but... That was what he was so, why hiding it?

"And your friends let you alone?"

"Kind of" he smiled and drank some water. "The only one who would have come wanted to watch horror movies and play videogames. And I don't feel like standing his energy today" he felt a little guilty for that, because he knew Eren would have just stayed there getting bored just to make sure Armin was OK. That was the main reason he didn't want his friend to go, because he knew Eren had better plans which Armin wanted him to attend.

"Hey, horror movies are masterpieces. Well, some are" Jean smiled at him and Armin rolled his eyes. He did remind him of Eren, excepting Eren's bad jokes and a personality a little hard to bear for a normal person. Jean seemed to be more friendly, nice... Calm.

"I like books"

"I don't read much" he started doing things again, taking plates, filling them with food, making a salad.

"You... Play the guitar?"

"I started in a band. It didn't work. But I still play sometimes"

"I learned some piano when I was younger"

"You don't play anymore?"

"A piano is more expensive than a school year" It was. He checked.

"True"

Armin had no idea what to talk about next. The nervousness started to fade away but he still felt awkward. He never liked those situation with stranger people where you have to act nice and ask about each other personal lives even if you don't really care. Armin did cared, but he felt uncomfortable talking about himself.

Jean dragged him out of his thoughts when he put it plate on his hands.

"I said you didn't have to eat, not that I wouldn't offer you my juicy famous chicken" he winked and walked to the table. _Oh no..._

Armin followed him looking at the plate. It looked tasty, smelled really good. Buy that didn't mean he could eat it. He stood down on the chair and put the plate in front of him. _I don't want him to think I don't want to, but... God, I should have left._

Jean approached him and put a glass of orange juice in front of Armin, sliding the plate of food away from him.

"Here. It's fresh and full of vitamins" Jean smiled and sit down in front of him. He took the chopsticks and attacked the plate.

"Thank you" it meant more than Armin could explain. The weight on his chest eased and he could relax. People used to look at him with pity, some of them even tried to talk to him about it like they knew what was happening in Armin's head. He hated it so he would avoid having lunch with them, going on a dinner... His friends got used to it and stopped bothering, Eren even made jokes about it and Armin couldn't feel more thankful for it.

Jean didn't seem to care eating alone by the way he was enjoying his food. Armin smiles at his juice and let his body fall a little on the table, resting his head on his arm.

"Are you tired?" Jean asked mouth full of food.

"No. I am out of energy. I was going for a walk but now I think wouldn't make it to the street"

"You should stay at home and rest" Jean mumbled and then swallowed. "When I feel really tired I don't even get out of bed"

"Ahh I hate lying all day. I need to do things"

"How are you gonna do things if you barely breath?" Jean laughed and Armin pouted.

"I am fine! Really!" He tried to sit straight again but he couldn't,giving up a'nd resting his head on the table.

"The definition of 'fine' must be different in your world"

"Okay... But still, I don't like being lazy"

Armin looked at the plate again. He bite his lip nervously and stretched his arm out towards it. _Maybe if I taste it..._ His stomach twitched but he touched the meat softly. It was warm and juicy. He tore a little slice with his fingers and looked at it. It seemed tasty, it felt soft against his skin. He brought it closer to his lips. It smelled good too.

Armin slid it in his mouth and chew on it slowly. _He can_ _so_ _cook!_ _This_ _is_ _really_ _goo_ d. Armin raised his eyes to Jean who was staring at him expecting for some kind of reaction. He raised an eyebrow and Armin smiled and nodded.

"I like it" he whispered after swallowing it. _I'm_ _sorry_ _for_ _not_ _eating_ _the_ _rest_ _._


	4. You're weird Cool

**You're Weird. Cool**

To make something clear, Armin wasn't anorexic. He didn't have any problems with food and it wasn't his choice not to eat. Actually, the days his stomach felt better things like noodles, pasta, spicy or any heavy food would be pushed down his throat leaving Armin pleased.

What was the problem then? Doctors sent him to a Psychologist because physically his body worked well. Apparently, stress and a hormone turmoil was the problem causing his body to reject food, mixed with the consequences of a heavy medicine diet he followed as a kid. So, ironically, he had to take medicines to treat it.

But that was a part of his past, which was supposed to be fading away. He was happy now, living his dream he worked so hard for and it was better than he expected. Armin made new friends who were amazing, different, special. Each one of them had their own problems to deal with so it wasn't hard for Armin to fit in with his peculiarities. It was the first time he could actually say he belonged somewhere and that was part of him now, it was his life and he loved it.

Right now, looking at how Jean was washing the dishes whistling low and moving his head to a rhythm only he could hear, Armin was asking himself why was he still there. They didn't talk much and his head was spinning because of the dizziness and the pain. But somehow it was nice being there, in silent and calm resting on a now clean couch, comfortable and soft making him sleepy. However, a part of Armin could tell how Jean was containing himself because Jean was obviously an energetic boy and would probably have the music playing loud and singing to it. Somehow Armin felt like he was bothering Jean, so he stood up. It was time to leave back to his bed and stay there until he could walk straight without feeling like fainting.

"Thank you for... the food". He spoke catching the boy's attention.

"You're leaving already?"

"Yes. I should sleep and take some medicine for the headache" when Armin stood up the gravity must have increased its strength because he fell right back on the couch.

"Wow. Stay there" Jean rushed to him throwing a towel to a side and bending down on him. He placed a hand on Armin's forehead. "You didn't notice how hot you are?"

"Am I?" Armin whispered amused trying to make Jean forget the fever, but instead he felt stupid and his turned even redder. "I- I mean... It's not so bad. I just need rest" Jean was extremely close which wasn't helping at all.

"And a bath of ice" Jean pushed his shoulders making Armin lay down on the sofa. "You stay here, cool down that fever, and then I'll take you later to your apartment"

"You don't need to be this nice to me. You don't owe me anything" Armin whispered. Maybe his fever was really high because he didn't feel like moving now even though he knew he shouldn't be there.

"You're right. Too bad I'm naturally nice" he winked and Armin felt his cheeks flushing red. _Thank god I have fever..._

"I'm sorry" Armin whispered finally as Jean placed a wet and cold towel on his forehead. He was sorry for bothering Jean so much, and the boy was helping him even though they were practically strangers.

"You should be. I don't know you, Armin. But you should be more careful about your health or this will still happening to you" then he covered Armin with a blanket and took off his shoes.

"I don't want to bother you... again. But thank you" he smiled weakly. Armin felt stupid again for getting to that point because he didn't know when to stop working and rest. It was his fault but Jean was the one helping him out even if he didn't have to.

"You're not. I didn't have plans today so you can stay here and keep me company" Jean smiled and pushed back the coffee table where the TV, he turned it on and dragged a chair to stand there.

Armin couldn't say if it was the fever or the exhaustion but he relaxed and kept staring at Jean forgetting his guilt and embarrassment. Jean had brown hair with a darker undercut which made his hairstyle kind of odd but funny. He had his ears pierced, three in the left one with small hoop earrings, and in the right he had two hoop rings down, one simple and small up in the cartilage and another one in the tragus. Armin could see a part of a tattoo on his arm but the sleeves were too longs to say what could it be. Jean was totally opposite of Armin making him extra interesting. He looked just like a member of a rock band, or maybe a tattoo artist, anything related to art. Or maybe sports, Armin couldn't say. But it was quite sure Jean was far from his world. He looked older too, but Armin didn't know as it was the first time he thought about it.

"How old are you?" he whispered, curiosity taking over his mind.

"Oh. Twenty three" Jean looked at him and nodded, waiting for the boy to answer his own question.

"Sorry" Armin shook his head trying to concentrate. "I'm nineteen" he mumbled before yawning. He started to feel sleepy and closed his eyes, but his mind wouldn't rest. "What's your job?"

"Right now I'm a waiter in a restaurant" the boy sighed "but I'm trying to get a job in a music company, as a producer"

"Music... I knew it was something like that" Armin whispered to himself. He heard Jean chuckling and then he felt how he turned the towel around on his forehead. The cold touch of the wet fabric made him shiver under the blanket, but it was refreshing and made his skin relax from the heat.

"Try to rest" Jean whispered but Armin couldn't sleep.

"Why did you moved here?"

"It's cheap and close to work. And It's close to my mother's house"

"Why don't you live with her?" just after finishing the question Armin wanted to slap himself. It wasn't his business and maybe Jean didn't want to talk about his private live.

"I'm kind of... Independent. I like being on my own, you know..." Jean smiled nervously and scratched his nape. Armin noticed he did that sometimes when he was nervous or embarrassed, or when the situation was awkward. The younger wrote that little detail in the mental list he started about Jean.

"So you can have parties every night?" Armin chuckled trying to change the atmosphere. But he understood what Jean meant. He felt the same freedom, being on his own and living as he wanted to. He was lonely sometimes, though, but Eren was always there to remind Armin to cherish the lonely times.

"I think parties will be over for some time. I'm still recovering from the cleaning sessions I had to do. Those lazy asses run away when it comes to helping out"

"I've never been to a party. They dragged me to a club once. It didn't end well" Armin forgot to make himself look less nerdy and slapped himself mentally before deciding to shut up. But he headed Jean laughing which made him cover his face with the blanket.

"What happened?" Jean didn't made comments about his poor social habits, thing Armin was grateful for. But now he had to think about that event again and his memory was blurry.

"Something about drinking, losing a shoe and ending up making a confession which couldn't be more embarrassing" he sighed. He remembered little things after the third glass Eren gave him, but all the things he remembered were a reason not to drink ever again.

"You're a rough party boy" Jean laughed and patted Armin's head from over the blanket. "Look, if you aren't ashamed of unless one night of your life, you didn't live properly"

"Maybe. But I wouldn't repeat the experience"

"I remember one time I swam naked in a river. In November, at three in the morning. I wouldn't repeat that either" if Jean was trying to comfort the younger, he succeed. Because Armin burst out laughing and ended up coughing. "Don't laugh! I was sick for a week" but Jean himself was laughing at that point and both of them let it all out before calming down.

"You're kind of crazy..."

"That's what makes me this cool. Where would I be if I'd like being normal?"

"You have a point there..." normal people madre Armin feel out of placer. Normal people were the reason Armin was lonely for so much time. Normal people sucked, only wanted to drag him in their own misery. He was done with them.

"You're not normal yourself. And that's cool. I think we will be good friends" Armin took the blanket off his head glancing at Jean. _Why would such an extroverted cool person want to be friend with someone as boring as me?_ He thought Jean was joking but the smile on his face felt honest to Armin. And it made him anxious. _What will happen when he realizes I'm not the socially open kind of person?_ It wouldn't be the first time someone runs from his life.

"What?" Jean's voice burst his bubble and Armin realized he had been staring at the boy. "I'm not good enough to be one of your friends? Because I have some hidden talents too"

"N-no! I mean... I don't think you can find anything entertaining about me but... If you insist" Armin pull out a hand and offered it to the frowning boy. Jean took it in a soft shake and then jumped up.

"Great! Now, I'll bring you another towel because you're fever must still be high. Your all face is red" he pointed out while walking away to the kitchen. _Great_ _..._ The embarrassment and nervousness made Armin blush hard. But if Jean didn't notice, it wasn't so bad.


End file.
